Summary: Names are of importance in the Bible -- the name of God; the names of people; and the new name given to believers in Jesus.

1. RC Oliver – When my wife and I attended Freed-Hardeman College (now University), one of our teachers gave a chapel talk about the importance of names. In so doing, he told us HIS story of the difficulties he had growing up eith the name, “RC” Oliver. As a child entering school, his teacher and principal did not believe that his name was RC they, like most of us, thought these letters were itnitials for two names. However, as his sister pointed out to the school officials, these two letters were the name their parents had given him. He had (as you can imagine) difficulty in the Army. The most memorable part to me was how he had to deal with the DMV in getting his driver’s license. When they sent his paperwork in, the department sent back a letter rejecting his application because they could not use initials, they had to have names for the license. He returned the letter with the following: R-Only; C-Only Oliver. He received his license with RONLY CONLY Oliver as his name. He went on to tell us about: Ima and Ura Pigg; Hot and Cold Running Water;

20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus [Yeshua], for he will save [Yoshia] his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.’ Revelation 2.17

In Pergamum – False gods that claimed to give what only GOD can:

• Demeter – goddess of Grain

• Asclepius – Snake god of Healing – people wrote their names on stones after receiving healing

• Dionysus – Son of Zeus and human woman – offered life after death and meaningful life on earth

• Augustus Caesa – first city to establish the emperor cult – claimed him as god and king

With the background of Pergamum, the place where Satan lived, in mind, we can better understand John's closing words to the church of Pergamum: "I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." God strategically placed the early believers in an evil world to stand as testimonies to his power and work in their lives. As standing stones for God, they were clearly different from the white stones on which people healed by Asclepius had written their names. The world needed to see the believers as white stones on which new names had been written, and the believers needed to speak the truth of God to a spiritually hungry world. Likewise, believers today need to praise God for all that he has done and tell people about it.